Pages

Friday, October 31, 2014

I realized I haven't introduced you all to the newest member of our family...Chloe!! We adopted her from the local animal shelter and she is approximately 6 months old. I picked her out on my birthday! She was the only kitty that wanted to talk to me and boy, did she talk! She's a meow-er for sure! It's incredible how easily she fit in to our family...she's very well mannered and loves to cuddle!

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Friendly challenges are definitely a motivator for me and when Jo at Jo's Country Junction announced that she was hosting another "Bonnie Challenge" this year, I got busy! The challenge is to pull out one of your Bonnie Hunter UFO's (everyone has one, don't they? -wink-) and work to finish it before her next mystery starts the day after Thanksgiving. Woohoo! Last year's challenge worked really well for me and I was able to finish one of my favorite quilts ever...Tumalo Trail!

I immediately thought, "hmmm...do I have a UFO to work on this year? Haha...don't be silly...of course I do! In fact, I have two. I have this green 16 patch and pinwheels....I started this one last winter and have a long way to go on it! I'm thinking this might not be the best choice as that would be asking a lot to finish before Thanksgiving! I do want to put it higher on the priority list though!

And I have Narragansett Blues....I assembled the top at retreat in May and when I brought it home, I folded it up and there it sat. I decided this one was more reasonable to finish in a few weeks. :)

The top is assembled with Leader/Ender 4 patches from the past year or so and before retreat, I cut up a good portion of my blue stash for the bricks. First thing it needed was the inner border. I had this red in my stash too, and though I would have loved to go out and buy a more exciting red, I'm happy to have used what I had. :)

Next up is the checkerboard border....if I planned ahead many months ago, I could have been making these as leaders and enders too! I need 200 units and I'm almost there! Thankfully, I have a nice box full of 2" squares ready to go!

So there is my challenge! Finish up my Narragansett Blues before the start of the next mystery! I'm confident I can do it! Anyone else joining in the challenge?

Monday, October 13, 2014

I took advantage of some "free" days this week and sewed to my hearts content! Yay! Of course, that means that a few other things around the house were neglected, but who cares, right?! LOL

I finished my Charming Stars top....it's not as big as I originally planned, but you know sometimes when a project tells you it's done? This one was screaming STOP! I had a really hard time with color placement and it was bugging me so much I was starting to not enjoy the project at all. This line of fabric has lots of repeats and quite a few fabrics in the same colorway or just a shade off...to me, that makes it difficult to get an even look. I tend to get a little OCD about same fabrics touching or being too close to each other, etc. I think that's why I prefer working with "scraps," rather than one particular line of fabric or precuts. Anyway...once I made the decision to STOP making blocks and assemble the top, I was happy and started to LOVE the project again. :) Also, you'll notice I didn't sash it. It was too much "white" with these colors/fabrics. I think I'll use flannel for the back to make it super cozy for winter snuggling. :)

I also finished another "Sew Together" bag. This one is a birthday gift for a friend...and yes, these are pictures from inside the car. I finished the hand-stitching part of the binding during a recent road trip and mailed it that same day! I -never- wait until the last minute...nope. :P

Just a pic of the inside....

NEXT...I wanted to start the next Schnibbles project, which is "Harvey." Harvey is actually a BIG quilt by Schnibbles standards....he measures 72" square. Well, I just didn't need another BIG quilt at this point....and since I'm trying to use just stash, I knew I wouldn't have yardage for a big quilt either. So...I decided to make a mini-Harvey. Mine measures 18" square. I used a little stash of Civil War reproductions for the neutrals and I had a one yard piece of the brown for the background. I'm pretty happy with it and even happier that I used what I had. I made the 1" HST with the EZ Angle ruler and it went together perfectly, it took just a little more than one day to assemble! Also, the original pattern doesn't have HST go all the way around the final border. I had LOTS of them leftover (and still do!). I have a brown/black stripe that I plan to bind it with...but I'm still unsure how to quilt it.

Last but not least is my Primitive Gatherings Sew Along project. I finally caught up with the 4th installment. I always think, "hmmm" when I see what she's chosen for the next round...but then once I get it all completed and added to my top, I love it! I also love that it's been completely assembled with scrap/stash fabrics too! Can't wait to see what's next!

Fall is almost gone here in Wyoming...I took this picture four days ago, and the leaves are almost completely gone now. We woke up to frost covering everything this morning too. Winter is quickly approaching!

Today is a "clean up the sewing room" day...after all those projects, it looks like a tornado hit!

Saturday, October 04, 2014

We were lucky enough to have a little more family time this week. This time it was a trip to Idaho to see Hubby's mom, sister, and nieces. It was beautiful weather for trip to the pumpkin patch and corn maze....

I guess it's sort of become a tradition for Travis and I to take a picture in the "big" chair...this is the 4th or 5th chair we've come across. It's just fun!

I also spent some time with my friend and cousin-in-law, Tammy. We spent the afternoon in her sewing studio and I made good progress on my pumpkin table mat. I'm determined to finish this one before the end of the month!

And finally....a few weeks ago, I made a few more Charming Stars. I'm a little frustrated with the selection of fabrics...this particular pre-cut pack has many duplicates of color and print. It's hard to keep a good mix and variety. Oh well...It'll work out in the end!

That's all for now...I've spent today playing catch up after having company last week and out of town this week. I'm hoping to have a productive week coming up! Wish me luck!

Special T's!!!

About Me

Although I love almost all kinds of crafts, my favorite by far is quilting...other favorites are scrapbooking, cross-stitch, embroidery and crochet. I'm a proud Air Force wife, married to my best friend, currently living in Virginia with our two kitties and mom to two of the coolest kids on the planet. :)